Tech Tips of the Week

January 11-15, 2016 #proudtobeajet

Tech Tips of the Week

January 11-15, 2016 #proudtobeajet

How do you involve students in the grading process?

Grading is the most arduous part of teaching, most teachers would agree. It's subjective and onerous and often diminishes the great learning that transpires in our spaces.

When students are reduced to a single letter or number grade, the process of learning is a by-product rather than the central result.

So if we have to grade (as is the case with most current systems), we must include students in this process and allow them to tell us what they know. This shows a student we trust them and are invested in helping them grow as learners.

Nothing helps a child succeed more than an educator's belief and support that he/she can. This additional level of confidence helps that student to achieve great depths beyond where he or she ever realized possible.

Education Week - Work in Progress,. "Students Can Grade Themselves When We Make It About Learning". N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

Paperlet

Paperlet is a unique online publishing platform that allows authors to create stories with an audience. In a world in which writers can't find audiences quickly, publishers have difficulty finding good material, and online distributors have a tough time guaranteeing eyeballs, Paperlet is designed to provide a solution based on a progressive and participatory approach to publishing. Authors can build their audiences from the get-go and incorporate feedback from their audiences into their stories, thus increasing the relevancy and quality of their material.

"Paperlet" - Easiest way to bring a story to life - "Beyond Words"

Augmented Reality Tools for Education

Augmented reality (AR) has evolved in recent years and its application in classrooms is limitless. Educators don’t need to feel overwhelmed when trying to introduce AR in their classroom because there are many great apps that don’t require a lot of knowledge in the field. There are useful apps for every subject and there are also apps that when a teacher is ready they can create their own AR targets.

Augmented reality works well in schools because it brings close to real life experiences to the classrooms. It’s fascinating to see the faces of students when they have the opportunity to explore space, the human body, cells or chemistry elements. You appreciate how eager and engaged they become with some simple AR apps.

Here are 9 cool AR apps you may want to try in your classroom:

AR Flashcards – Alphabet (Free): App to help students learn the alphabet

Chromville (Free): Educational app using the eight multiple intelligences. Students color their characters and then they come to life with the Visual Arts app.

Barcy (Free): From the creators of Chromville comes Barcy, an AR app that explores water life and the water use.

Chromville Science ($4.99): Chromville Science joins art, technology, science and the eight Multiple Intelligences, promoting the development of kid’s creativity and their motivation for the learning process according to their needs and preferences.

Elements 4D (Free): AR Chemistry app that brings the elements to life. It includes lesson plans for all levels: elementary, intermediate, and high school.

Anatomy 4D (Free): Bring the human body to life with this AR app. Have students learn about the different systems and human anatomy with this app.

Arloon Geometry ($2.99): An amazing way to learn geometry! This app features 3D models with AR for most geometric shapes. By directly interacting with the figures, your students will improve their spatial visualization.

Arloon Mental Math ($2.99): Fun way for students to practice addition and subtraction without using paper.